Friday, December 4, 2009

Lessons Learned at the Festival of Trees

Man! I've been meaning to write in here all week, but it's been a rather crazy week so I haven't had the chance. However, I'm hoping to rectify that now with this entry, complete with pictures!

So last night Smirk, another friend and I went to the Festival of Trees. I love the Festival and try my hardest to go every year if I can. I love seeing all the beautiful trees people have decorated either because they feel passionate about something, are doing it in remembrance of a loved one or just because they want to help Primary Children's Medical Center. I suppose I'm in the mood to learn from different things or something because I made some new observations this year and gathered some new wisdom that I'd like to share with you.

Lesson No. 1: Many of these trees were done in remembrance of someone or to honor a person. I have always known this fact but this year it struck me in a way it never has before. Perhaps this is because my wonderful aunt and cousins entered a tree in honor of my ailing niece. I also learned that you can read the story about the tree, well a brief one anyway, by picking up the name card and looking on the back. While it made the tree much more meaningful, it also struck a chord within me and brought tears much too close to the surface for comfort. I am so sensitive of late and things that I could normally handle just fine make me cry. This was one of them. I know that it's not a bad thing to cry, and I'm sure people would understand, but I would really hate doing it in such a public place. Luckily I was able to avoid doing so, although I was weepy eyed for a good portion of my walk through the many rows of trees.

Here are pictures of the tree my aunt and cousins made. It's called "A Beary Special Angel."

Lesson No. 2: Although trials and adversity are difficult, keeping a good perspective makes them not only more meaningful but also easier to bear. This thought was inspired by this fun little sign. I made the picture bigger so hopefully you can read it but if not, I'll tell you what it says: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." I found that to be profound.

Lesson No. 3: Sometimes it's okay to be naughty. :) (Yes, I know this picture is sideways, and I tried everything I could think of to fix it. It refused to upload horizontally. Ugh!)

Lesson No. 4: Snowmen apparently have wise advice about life. I'm 99 percent sure that this is too small for you to read, which makes me sad because it's funny as well as insightful.

Lesson No. 5: The Festival could be just the place to catch a man! Here's me blowing a kiss to my "prospective suitor" but, alas, it appears he is someone else's prince since he didn't change. Oh well! At least I didn't turn into a frog. . .

Lesson No. 6: When they say "gingerbread houses," they really mean "gingerbread palaces." The house below is quite elaborate and looks like it took someone many hours to create. And it definitely wasn't the only one.

This is an actual gingerbread castle. It was huge, probably about 3.5-4 feet tall. I had to take a picture and send it on to Miss Sassypants to let her know what her next gingerbread project should be. . . (Making gingerbread houses is one of the activities she loves doing. She has made both a house and a train of late, and while I was there over Thanksgiving, we were making a miniature gingerbread village. It was quite fun. I hoped that sending her the picture might help her smile.)

Okay, so I realize that I intermixed lessons: some were silly while others were more serious. Nevertheless, I hope you all benefit from the wisdom I gained at the Festival of Trees. :)